For the Night
by tiger002
Summary: When they were young, Al had trouble sleeping because of a storm and nightmares, but Ed is there to make him feel safe.


**For the Night**

A tremendous rumble of thunder shook the small house at the edge of town. A small blond haired boy shook under the covers of his blankets, trying to hide, trying to get away from the storm. He could see the shadows, the mighty strikes of lightning created on the walls of his room. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see the light and the shadows along with it. The shadows seemed to call out for him, the way they seem to wave back and forth before they faded into the night once again.

No matter how much he tried hiding himself away, he couldn't force himself back to sleep. He knew that with sleep he had a chance to dream, and to dream meant he could see that again. He saw visions of an endless desert, of people screaming, and of people dying.

He didn't want to see them again, didn't want to feel their last breaths in the overwhelming heat. He forced his eyes open, seeing another flash of lightning light up the sky like the start of a new day, only to fade away to the dark again. He could feel his heart beating faster, voices not his own swirling in his ears, though he couldn't know just what they said. Like voiceless souls trapped in the torrent of his mind, they pounded at his soul.

They clawed at him, and he could see them, the dream becoming reality. Underneath the covers of his bed their hands seemed to wrap around him, pulling him down, away, somewhere, nowhere.

He didn't know who they were, but before he could figure it out, he felt them strangling him, taking his breath away. He tried to fight them, tried to breathe, but every breath seemed to be weaker and weaker. Flailing his arms, he threw the blanket off over his body.

He found himself in a cold sweat, the chilly air of the room making him shiver. He could breathe easier now, though his mouth was dry. The voices hadn't gone, though he couldn't hear them anymore. The lied deeper, farther away, but the whispers of their suffering remained.

Getting up from the bed, he tried walking, trying to wake himself fully from the nightmare, hoping that's all it was. "Just a dream," he said, but he could still feel torn, like he was both in his room in the night, but also that he was somewhere else, still gripped by his dream.

Another bolt of lightning struck, this one closer with a roar of thunder so loud it threw the boy off his feet. He crashed into the wooden floor, landing on his shoulder. He looked up and could still see the shadows, which he could almost swear, were looking back at him.

"Oww," he said rubbing his arm as he got back up.

"Is that you Al?"

He looked across the room through the darkness. The figure moving, but this time not one that stung him with fear or made him tremble in terror.

"Brother?" He saw his brother get up from his bed and walk over to him, a look of confusion, a touch of annoyance, but most of all concern on his face, though Al could barely see it until another strike of lightning lit up their room.

He felt a bit calmer now, not like he had to run or hide.

"What are you doing up?"

Al felt the hand on his shoulder and in an instant he embraced his brother in a hug. "I was scared."

"The storm?"

He shook his head. This wasn't the first storm that had awoken him, though it had been a long time since they'd been through one this bad. He wanted to know the house would protect them like it always had, that their mom wouldn't let them down. But it was the first big storm since their dad left, and the house felt somehow empty without him. "Well, not just that."

"What do you mean?"

"There was this weird dream."

"Don't worry about some stupid dream."

Of course, just a stupid dream, that's all it was, all it would be. That made perfect sense. But in Al's mind, there still lingered some doubt. "Brother, are you sure?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm sure." Such certainty. Such confidence. Al wanted to believe it; he had every reason to. But the shadows of doubt still poked at the back of his mind.

More lightning struck, and despite being so close to his brother, Al jumped, swearing the shadows were darker now than they were before. A breath caught in his throat, and even with Ed beside him, he felt like screaming.

"Are you crying Al?"

Through a sob, he tried answering no, but the word came out jumbled. "You're gonna be alright," Ed said, "It's just a storm and some bad dreams; nothing to worry about."

He wrapped himself tighter around Ed. Facing outside, he could see the storm in all its power, it's wind shaking up trees, the rain pouring all over the earth. Wanting to believe that this wasn't something to be afraid of, he stared down the night and all it's fury. But even if he believed the storm outside wasn't something to be afraid of, he could still feel the storm of his own thoughts and fears. "What if it's something different?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, just something feels bad tonight."

Al didn't know anything else to say to describe it, but he hoped his brother could understand it, even if he didn't.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that either."

"Why not?"

"If something bad comes, then I'll protect you from it. You can come over to my bed so I'll be closer to you if something happens."

"You sure?"

"Of course. I couldn't sleep either if I knew you were so scared."

"All right."

With his heart at rest, Al walked to Ed's bed. As the two of them got in, Al felt the chills fade away with the warmth of his brother. Ignoring the shadows, sure that anything he saw was merely his imagination he closed his eyes and let his mind rest. While the storm continued to rage outside, and would for quite some time, Al's heart felt peace. "Sleep good Al, you'll be safe. I promise."

While Al fell asleep quickly, Ed couldn't force himself to rest, not when his brother seemed so scared, so worried. He wanted to keep watch, at least for a time to ensure that everything was all right. He knew Al would do the same for him, watch over him to allow him to relax in peace. However, Ed's tiredness soon caught up to him as he too succumbed to the lullaby of the rain and went gently falling upon the house.

**A/N: **I just finished watching Brotherhood, and I've known for a while that I wanted to write something for it, waiting till the end so I knew the story. I wanted to do something small to start, possibly a longer adventure fic later, but just this for now. Last night I got the idea for this, and thought it would be a sweet story to write. And while this story is meant to be a stand alone one-shot, it also works as a start to a much longer story, something I hinted at with a couple things here.

Anyway, tell me what you think of this. I love hearing from readers. This may have been my first story for the fandom, but there's a good chance it won't be my last.

Also, thanks to Wyntirsno for betaing.


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